Kouhei locked eyes with Chihiro, his gaze unshaken, calm like a placid lake concealing the storm beneath.
"For starters," he said, voice deliberate, "I'll offer my help in rebuilding your mansion. I want to begin this relationship by repairing what's been broken."
Chihiro's lips curled, and then she let out a dry, cutting laugh—more amused than impressed.
"That's not really an offer, is it?" she said, amusement giving way to sharpness. "Considering you were the one who destroyed it… that sounds more like a responsibility than a gift."
It was the Yuuna Faction who had inflicted the damage in the first place. Logically, repairing it wasn't something to be offered—it was something owed.
Kouhei's words, intended as a gesture of goodwill, now rang hollow in the room.
Chihiro leaned forward slightly, her voice cool, eyes dimming like fading embers.
"If that's your grand opening, then it's nothing at all. It doesn't even qualify as a real proposal."
The air seemed to chill around her. Whatever flicker of interest had been there moments ago vanished completely, extinguished in a single breath.
She was done. Or so it seemed.
Kouhei, however, didn't flinch. He simply exhaled.
"I'm sorry," he said slowly, his tone steady. "But assuming that was all I had to offer is a little insulting, don't you think?"
He paused, voice tightening with a subtle challenge.
"I did say for starters, didn't I?"
His initial words had made it clear—there was more to come. The rebuilding was just the surface.
But Chihiro didn't look impressed. She leaned back, wine glass still in hand, her legs crossed with queen-like poise.
"Considering that was your opening move, I highly doubt whatever follows will be any better," she said coldly. "It all sounds a little childish, to be honest. What's next? Are you going to offer me your eternal life in some dramatic sacrifice?"
Kouhei gave a small chuckle, rolling his shoulders in a casual shrug.
"Well, not quite that extreme," he replied. "Although…"
He leaned in slightly, his voice lowering.
"I was thinking about offering access to the Child of Anti-Prophecy."
The words hit like a thunderclap in the silence.
Chihiro's posture stiffened, her eyes widening in genuine surprise. She hadn't expected that.
"You… want to give us power over that?" she asked, her tone careful, her words slower now.
Kouhei nodded, serious.
"My power—at least, according to what Yuuna-san told me—can amplify the strength of anyone I've formed a bond with. If our connection deepens, Mitani-san, that strength could become considerable."
He wasn't exaggerating.
The child of anti-prophecy wasn't some vague legend—it was real. Power that could awaken even the smallest spark inside someone and set it ablaze into something terrifying.
It wasn't just rare. It was game-breaking.
And he was offering to share it.
"You're really going that far?" Chihiro asked, her brows narrowing. "You do realize there's nothing you can do against Souichiro-sama, right? He holds the largest faction in the current generation. The strongest demons. The biggest army. You're going up against a mountain. You can't win against that with ideals alone."
"That's why I'm gathering allies," Kouhei replied without hesitation, his voice steady. "As many as I can. Enough to challenge the impossible."
There was no tremor in his voice. No doubt.
Only unwavering conviction.
Chihiro looked at him for a long moment, the seriousness in his tone pressing down like a silent weight.
It was a suicide mission—she knew that.
Which was why she had kept her distance, steering herself toward Souichiro instead. It was strategy, not cowardice. She wasn't one to fight a losing war.
And yet here he was—asking her to take the side everyone else was too afraid to touch.
To walk with the doomed.
To gamble on what could easily be the last stand of a fool.
"You're putting everything—everyone—you gather at risk," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"And that's why I'm offering something in return," Kouhei answered.
And this time, the smile wasn't warm.
There was something dark curling at the corners of his mouth. Something wrong about the way it stretched across his face.
A grin that shouldn't belong to a human.
It made her skin tingle with unease.
Because this wasn't the same Kouhei she remembered.
No—this was someone else. Someone twisted. Reforged in fire. Reshaped by something unholy.
And yet, he looked the same.
That was what made it worse.
"I'm not asking them to die, Mitani-san," he said smoothly. "I'm asking them to join me. And if I give them something truly worth dying for—something that rewards their loyalty in full—then I think…"
He tilted his head slightly.
"…they'll gladly die for it."
The room fell into a stillness.
But Chihiro felt something move.
A prickling sensation ran up her spine like ice crawling across skin, making her breath hitch.
A very particular kind of fear—one born not from being threatened, but from recognizing truth.
Because what he said made sense.
And that terrified her.
If someone truly possessed that power—if Kouhei had the ability to offer strength so vast it could change the rules of the game—then yes…
They wouldn't be playing pieces anymore.
And the ancient board, long manipulated by Yesh and Ayin for countless millennia…
He'd be god in his own right.
"You're selling yourself higher than you should be," Chihiro said sharply, her voice edged with skepticism. Her gaze remained calm, but there was a flicker of doubt in her tone. "Are you really sure you'll win?"
"I don't think I can," Kouhei replied honestly, his expression unreadable. "Because I haven't figured out how to win yet. But I don't see myself failing either."
His voice carried weight—not arrogance, but something colder. Something terrifying in its calmness.
Because Kouhei meant what he said.
Every variable, every potential path and threat—he had taken them into account. He had analyzed everything he could about Souichiro's faction with surgical precision. His mind was working like a battlefield machine.
He knew about the one who could twist time at will, the other who could fold space as easily as breathing, and the brute who wielded monstrous strength capable of ripping through iron walls. Each one a piece of Souichiro's overwhelming army.
And yet Kouhei didn't flinch.
He had already peeled back their layers through the intelligence gathered by Aria and Hina. Those two had done everything to help him uncover the secrets of the enemy. And thanks to them, he could now see glimpses of the bigger picture.
A premature strategy, yes. Still incomplete.
But the game had begun.
Now, he only needed a few more key players on his side. The board was almost set.
Currently, Hina was working to bring in another name—Amemiya Kyouka, his teacher. Someone who, until recently, Kouhei had seen as just a part of his everyday school life. But it turned out… she was a demon too.
It surprised him at first. But honestly, not that much.
There were always demons hiding in plain sight.
He had suspected some faculty members were more than they appeared. Now he had proof.
Still, that didn't change the present.
Kouhei's voice dropped a notch as he continued, his eyes narrowing, tone quiet yet unshakable.
"I don't plan to force you, of course. This is your decision. But I want you to understand something, Mitani-san," he said, his words razor-sharp. "Yuuna-san is someone precious to me. I won't allow anyone—not even her own brother—to take her away from me."
As he spoke, the air around him shifted—thickening.
The aura he exuded darkened into something suffocating. Something primal. Possessive.
It felt like the air itself was being choked, compressed by the sheer intensity of his presence.
And this wasn't an act.
This was his true self bleeding through.
The charming exterior had cracked just enough to reveal the demon within.
A man who loved, yes. But one who would become a monster to protect what was his.
A sadist. A demon. A being shaped by mana and war.
Because Kouhei wasn't human anymore.
The transformation from man to demon wasn't just physical—it was in the way he looked at the world now. The way his compassion and his cruelty danced on a razor's edge.
This was no longer the boy who once walked among mortals. This was someone reborn in fire, carried by purpose.
"Well," Kouhei said, his voice relaxing slightly as he stood from his seat. "That's all I have to say, Mitani-san. I hope this meeting leaves an impression."
He brushed invisible dust from his jacket sleeve.
"My offer stands. If you in this mission, the power I possess—the power of the Anti-Prophecy—will be yours to benefit from."
Then, with a half-smirk curving on his lips, he added.
"And I promise… I'm not the kind of guy who'll leave a woman blueballed over an empty promise."
Chihiro stared at him.
And in that moment, the composed, cold strategist she had been just moments ago was gone.
The power dynamic had flipped.
She wasn't in control anymore.
Kouhei turned to the door. He gripped the handle, paused, and glanced back over his shoulder.
"Bye, Mitani-san," he said, almost teasingly. "I hope we meet again soon."
Then he left—closing the door behind him with a soft click that echoed like thunder in the silence of the room.
She simply reached out, hand trembling ever so slightly, and poured another round of wine into her glass. The crimson liquid swirled gently, reflecting the flickering light in the room.
She took a long sip. Then another. And another.
Trying to drown the weight sitting heavy in her chest.
She had just seen something terrifying.
And she wasn't sure if she could ever unsee it.